Television
Nick Cannon Apologizes for Anti-Semitic Comments: ‘I Feel Ashamed’
Nick Cannon posted an apology message via Twitter on Wednesday after he received criticism for anti-Semitic language used in a recent podcast episode. He was dropped by ViacomCBS earlier this week after the podcast surfaced and received wide visibility. “First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin,” Cannon wrote. “They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from. The video of this interview has since been removed.” Cannon will also remain as host of Fox’s hit The Masked Singer, the network said Wednesday...
REVOLT TV CEO Roma Khanna Stepping Down After Three Years
Colin McIntosh and Detavio Samuels will step in as co-heads. Roma Khanna, CEO of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ REVOLT TV, is stepping down from her role at the cable network after nearly three years on the job. Going forward, she will serve as an advisor to REVOLT TV’s senior team and shareholders. With Khanna departing, REVOLT TV executive vp and head of finance & operations Colin McIntosh and COO and head of content Detavio Samuels will step in as co-heads, taking over day-to-day leadership of the company. Both will report to Combs Enterprises COO Tarik Brooks. Named CEO in September 2017, Khanna has launched such programing as State of the Culture and REVOLT Black News, in addition to the multi-city, multi-platform REVOLT Summit x AT&T. Under her tenure, REVOLT has also grown its distribu...
CBS, NAACP Ink Sprawling Content Partnership Deal
Days after CBS committed to expanding development from BIPOC, the company is teaming with the NAACP for a wide-ranging content partnership. As part of a new, multiple-year agreement, CBS TV Studios and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will team to develop and produce scripted, unscripted and documentary content for linear and streaming platforms. Under the deal, creative leaders from CBS TV Studios will work with the civil rights group to establish a dedicated team of executives and an infrastructure to acquire, develop and produce programming. The goal will be to produce premium content while also expanding the number of diverse voices telling inclusive stories that increase the visibility and impact of Black artists. Included in the deal is a commi...
Masked Singer Sheldon Riley Shines With Billie Eilish Cover on ‘AGT’: Watch
Sheldon Riley doesn’t waste his voice on trifling matters. Like speaking, with America’s Got Talent judges. During Tuesday night’s auditions, the Sydney, Australia hopeful initially played the silent type, before revealing a voice which had Simon Cowell and Co. in raptures. Performing in an exotic black gown and a shimmering mask which could have been been lifted from Prince’s vault, Riley lit the torch with a dramatic rendition of Billie Eilish’s “idontwannabeyouanymore”. Riley later explained his quiet start. He’d rather let his performance do all the talking. Afterwards, Cowell praises Riley’s mystery and originality. “You have an amazing voice,” Howie Mandel enthused. “And the fact that I don’t know what you ...
‘American Idol’ Alum Chris Sligh Has COVID-19
Chris Sligh, a finalist in season six of American Idol, is battling with COVID-19-related pneumonia. The contemporary Christian singer on Monday posted a picture of himself appearing unwell in a medical facility, with the caption, “My world right now. Covid suuuuucks.” His condition hasn’t improved. “I’ll try to reach out to as many people as I can individually, but publicly let me say thank you for the prayers & kind words,” he writes in a new Instagram post. “I have Covid that has devolved into pneumonia. Breathing without pain or coughing is difficult & I didn’t get much sleep last night, but hopefully the antibiotics do their work fast.” Thanks to his deep run in the 2007 season of Idol, Sligh has enjoyed a notable chart career. His album Empty Me from 2008 peaked at No. 9 on t...
Festus Keyamo to appear again in National Assembly over 774,000 jobs controversy
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, will appear before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Labour on Tuesday to defend the 774,000 job recruitment across the country. The Minister is going on the invitation of the Joint Committee after the earlier meeting ended in shouting match. But Keyamo has made it clear to the lawmakers that he was sending a written submission on issues surrounding the programme ahead of his appearance to avoid a repetition of what happened during the last sitting. He also expressed reservations that he might not get a fair hearing from the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Labour, alleging that the Committee Chairman was the one at the forefront of insisting on controlling and dictating the execution of the programme...
The Dead South Sparkle With ‘Diamond Ring’ Performance at 2020 Juno Awards: Watch
The Dead South were very much alive and kicking at the 2020 Juno Awards, with the four-piece snaring a trophy and delivering a punchy performance. The folk-bluegrass act’s LP Sugar & Joy won the Juno for traditional roots album of the year, and the audience at home won with the Dead South’s performance of “Diamond Ring.” Nate Hilts and Co. brought an energy and sparkle with “Diamond Ring,” lifted from their award-winning third album. Speaking ahead of its release last October, the Regina, Saskatchewan-based band explained how FAME Studio-trained producer Jimmy Nutt turned the record into gold. “We’re really proud of the instrumentation on our new album,” the band said. “With the first two records, we were still figuring out how to fit it all together. With the help of Jimmy...
John Legend, Black Eyed Peas & More Set for ‘Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular’
John Legend, The Black Eyed Peas, Lady A and many more are set to take the stage during NBC’s upcoming 44th annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. Hosted by Jane Lynch and Today anchor Craig Melvin, the annual Independence Day event will be broadcast live from New York City. Additional performers confirmed for the telecast ahead of the yearly fireworks display include The Killers, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and national youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman. Due to concerns over social distancing amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular will look a bit different than it has in years past. This year, the event is being “reimagined as a series of neighborhood shows” through the city’s five boroug...
‘BET Awards 2020 Needed More Than Ever’: President Scott Mills Reflects on Show’s Lasting Impact & More
BET president Scott Mills wants viewers of this year’s BET Awards to understand one thing up front: don’t call it a virtual awards show. It’s a “complete mischaracterization of what the show is,” says Mills of the BET Awards which, like many other special events, has had to shift gears as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the ceremony will air Sunday evening (June 28) and also make its national broadcast debut on CBS. Noting that other media have tagged the show as virtual, Mills continues, “We actually never have described it as virtual. We said that we’re proceeding with the awards show and not doing it in front of a live audience.” Mills further emphasizes that the show won’t feature artists simply performing from their homes. Instead, performanc...
Jenny Slate Will No Longer Voice “Missy” on Netflix’s ‘Big Mouth’
Source: David Crotty / Getty As the reckoning for businesses across the country continues to happen, some actors in Hollywood are jumping ahead of the curve by playing their part in ensuring that roles and characters based on people of color are actually played by people of color. On Tuesday (Jun 24), voice actress Jenny Slate took to Instagram to announce that she would no longer be the voice of “Missy” the Black character on Netflix’s animated series Big Mouth, before adding that her decision was based on the fact that the role should be voiced by a Black person. “At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play Missy because her mom is Jewish and White — as am I. But Missy is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by ...
Kelly Clarkson Crushed a Beautiful Version of This TLC Classic in Her Latest Kellyoke: Watch
In case you forgot, Kelly Clarkson is still slaying it in quarantine. The singer proved that lockdown hasn’t sapped her creative superpowers again on Wednesday when she performed a picture-perfect cover of TLC‘s 1999 hit “Unpretty” on her daytime talk show this week. With her bandmates joining in from ornate digital frames, Clarkson gave the tune a bouncy island vibe. The track about appreciating the beauty that’s inside of you instead of focusing on the external gained a renewed relevance at a time when many of us are realizing that the masks we used to put on every day when we went to work were just that: illusions. Clarkson’s thoughtful, poignant take on the tune brought that message home as she sang it with her face unadorned by makeup or the usual H...
Issa Rae & Bette Midler Team Up For HBO Special ‘Coastal Elites’
Source: HBO / HBO Issa Rae stays getting those checks. On Monday (Jun 22), HBO announced that Issa Rae and Bette Midler will be starring in the new series, Coastal Elites, a series that will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals. The series, which was produced entirely under quarantine, “tells stories of breaking down and breaking through in the summer of 2020 that are funny, searing, poignant and now,” HBO said in a statement. The series written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals from five characters played by Issa Rae, Bette Midler, Sar...
